Creative Zen Officially Official
April 1, 2005 by admin 1 Comment
It looks as if Creative has officially added the new Zen to its lineup. As previously reported, then Zen is a slightly larger version of the Creative Zen Micro, but sporting a 20GB capacity.
According to Akihabara News, the Zen will size up at 3.7″x2.4″x0.8″ and 5.0oz. They also have a couple of extra photos of the Zen, as well.
According to Engadget, the Zen will be available in Japan before the end of the month.
Related Links:
New Creative Zen
Filed under Creative
New Creative Zen
March 22, 2005 by admin 3 Comments
Creative has quietly added a new player to its lineup, the Creative Zen. Not Zen Micro, Zen Xtra, Zen Touch, Zen NX or Zen USB 2.0. Just the Creative Zen.
Essentially it’s a Zen Micro that has been enlarged to accomodate a 20GB drive (compared with the 6GB max capacity of the Zen Micro). The looks and the controls appear to be the same as the Zen Micro.
Creative has not listed the dimensions, retail price or when it will be available as of yet. [Via Engadget]
Filed under Creative
Creative Zen Micro Now Plays For Sure
March 11, 2005 by admin 3 Comments
Creative has released a firmware update for the Zen Micro that adds support for Microsoft’s PlaysForSure DRM technology. Napster to Go, among others, uses PlaysForSure to protect music, so the Zen Micro is now compatible with Napster’s newest service. [Via Nomadness]
To install the firmware, download the file from the Creative support site, connect the Zen Micro to your computer, run the download .EXE and then click Upgrade.
Filed under Content, Creative
Creative Cuts Prices on the Zen Micro
March 1, 2005 by admin 1 Comment
Creative announced a series of price cuts on their Zen Micro line today. This is clearly a reaction to Apple squeezing prices downward last week with the new iPod Minis, which are $199 for 4GB and $249 for 6GB now.
The “incredible new pricing” from Creative brings the 4GB model down to $180 (after a $20 rebate), $230 for 5GB and $250 for 8GB.
Does Creative really need 3 capacity choices here? That 5GB model really seems to be in no-man’s-land. But then again, this is war.
Filed under Creative
Creative Zen Micro Review
February 10, 2005 by admin Leave a Comment
Everything USB (which we guess includes USB-enabled audio players) has a review of the 5GB Creative Zen Micro. Everything USB gives a nearly-unqualified yes vote [Via i4u]:
The Zen Micro is fast, colorful, and has a wonderful interface that allows for quick access to all functions. If you don’t encounter any of the defects we did, the Zen Micro is a good choice that outperforms the competition in almost every aspect.
Related Links:
Creative Zen Micro Review
Creative Zen Micro Review
Creative Zen Micro Review
Four Creative Zen Micro Reviews
Filed under Creative
Creative Zen Micro Review
January 24, 2005 by admin Leave a Comment
Design Technica has joined the pack of reviewers of Creative’s compact, 5GB player. Like most reviews, the inevitable comparisons to the Apple iPod and iPod Mini are made, but the Design Technica crew had some strong words for Creative about meeting or beating the iPod:
There is a reason why the iPod reigns supreme; it simply works as it says it will. Apple has made us upset with their unwillingness to support software other than iTunes and we were really hoping the Creative Labs Zen Micro would be a good alternative, but it just left us feeling let down. If you read any other reviews both in print publication and on the web, you will be led to believe that the Zen Micro is the iPod killer we have all been waiting for, but it isn’t. We have to wonder if these other publications even tested the Zen Micro before writing a review. After testing two different players and using them for a couple months, the flaws in the Zen Micro were very obvious to us.
Creative Labs has a couple problems they need to address before they can stand to compete with others in this market. First of all, something is draining the battery life from its player at increased rates, both when it’s being used and when it’s powered off. Getting four hours of battery life from a 12-hour battery is inexcusable. Secondly, while we love the audio quality from their ear buds, they are too big to use for long periods and will make your ears very sore. Lastly, Creative needs to polish their own MediaSource software and work on software compatibility with other Media Players like RealPlayer and MusicMatch. Here is our suggestion for Creative Labs: make a hard drive based digital audio player with only a few polished features and make sure it works well. Throwing in everything but the kitchen sink shouldn’t automatically mean it’s the best, it has to work correctly first.
Related Links:
Creative Zen Micro Review
Creative Zen Micro Review
Four Creative Zen Micro Reviews
Filed under Creative
Creative Zen Micro Photo Officially Official
January 11, 2005 by admin Leave a Comment
DAPReview brings word that Creative will be updating the Zen Micro will a color LCD and renaming it the Creative Zen Micro Photo. As far as we can tell, the color screen is the only change from the original. The Zen Micro Photo is supposed to be available in a few months and will retail for $299 for the 5GB model and $349 for 6GB.
Incidentally, the Zen Micro Photo was the best-in-show product in the Audio to Go category at the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show.
Filed under Creative
Interactive Creative Zen Micro Review
January 11, 2005 by admin Leave a Comment
Jason Dunn over at Digital Media Thoughts has an interesting experiment going on right now. Instead of doing a standard product review, he’s conducting a Q&A-style review in their forums. So if you’ve got questions about the Zen Micro, head over there and get the answers.
Filed under Creative
Creative Zen Micro Review
January 10, 2005 by admin 1 Comment
Tom’s Hardware has posted yet another Creative Zen Micro review:
The Zen Micro can look at its official competitor, the iPod Mini, squarely in the eye. While it may be a little less snazzy design-wise and not as user-friendly when exchanging files with a PC compared to the iPod, the Zen Micro offers a gigabyte more memory and sound quality that’s just as good, plus better earphones, a few extra functions (FM radio and voice recorder), and slightly better battery life (10 hours compared to an average of eight for the iPod). All for essentially the same price, depending on where you buy it.
Filed under Creative
Creative Expands Zen Micro Line
January 6, 2005 by admin Leave a Comment
Back in September, Creative CEO Sim Wong Hoo promised that Creative would introduce 8 new models before years end. He was off by a couple of weeks, but to make good on his vow Creative has announced 3 new versions of the Creative Zen Micro at CES.
The new models are functionally the same as the original 5GB Zen Micro, but now there will also be 1GB (flash-based), 4GB and 6GB flavors as well. So not so much new as slightly different. Prices will be $199 for 1GB, $229 for 4GB and $299 for 6GB.
Related Links:
Creative Declares War on Apple
Creative Gets Busy: MuVo2 FM and More
Creative Zen Micro Officially Official
Filed under Creative
← Older posts